FALCZI, PEACE OF.—This celebrated peace was concluded between Russia and Turkey, July 2nd, 1711,—the Russians giving up Azof and all their possessions on the Black Sea to the Turks. In the following year the war was renewed, and at last terminated in the peace of Constantinople, April 16th, 1712. FALKIRK, BATTLE OF.—First battle fought between Edward I of England, and the Scots under William Wallace, July 22nd, 1298; and the second between the King’s forces and Prince Charles Stuart, the Pretender, January 18th, 1746. Both are described in the following extracts:
“Edward had been in Scotland for about a month. He had advanced as far as Kirkliston, ten miles west of Edinburgh. Symptoms of mutiny began to appear among his hungry soldiers. He was compelled to give[134] orders for a retreat to Edinburgh, meaning to wait there till his fleet, laden with provisions, should arrive at Leith, and then to advance again.
Things stood thus, when two scoundrels, the Earl of Dunbar and the Earl of Angus, came at daybreak into the camp of the English, and gave information that Wallace lay in the forest of Falkirk, intending to attack the English in their quarters that very night. Edward was filled with joy at the tidings. “Thanks be to God,” he cried, “who hath hitherto delivered me from every danger! They shall not need to follow me, for I shall instantly go and meet them.”
In an hour’s time he had his army in motion for the west. That night they encamped on a moor near Linlithgow. Each man slept in his armour, each war-horse was kept ready bridled beside its rider. The king himself slept on the bare ground, like the meanest soldier in his army. In the middle of the night the sleeping king received a kick from his own charger, by which two of his ribs were broken. As soon as morning dawned the march was resumed. The king, wounded as he was, was among the first to mount.
Passing through the town of Linlithgow, they continued their march, and gained a rising ground at some distance beyond. There they halted, and the fighting Bishop of Durham said mass. While the ceremony was performing the sun rose, and his rays, glancing upon the array of spears, showed them the Scottish army taking their ground on the slope of a small hill not far from Falkirk. Wallace arranged his battle thus: His main force lay in his infantry, who fought with long spears, and carried short daggers and axes for close battle slung at the girdle. They were divided into four circular masses, or schiltrons, as they were called in the military language of the time. In these circles the spearmen stood compactly together, with their long spears stretched out, and forming a ring of steel. The spaces between circle and circle were occupied by the archers, tall yeomen from the forests of Selkirk and Ettrick. The cavalry, amounting to 1000 heavy armed horse, were placed in the rear. Among them were most of the nobles who had joined Wallace; but the jealousy which these proud barons felt towards him, and their selfish fear of losing their estates, made them less than half-hearted in the cause.
The English came on in three divisions, each division as strong as the whole Scottish army. At the first clash of spears the entire body of the Scottish cavalry, led by the traitor lords, turned bridle, and rode off the field without a blow given or taken. While the battle raged against the circles of spearmen, the English horse charged the Scottish archers. The[135] brave foresters stood firm to meet the rush of 7000 of the finest cavalry ever present on a stricken field. But what could they, lightly armed as they were, do against mailed horse and steel-clad knights? They defended themselves so bravely with their short daggers that the very enemy admired them. But they died there to a man. After the battle the conquerors remarked their tall and handsome forms as they lay dead on the ground they had kept so well.
The four circles of the Scottish spearmen remained yet entire, standing up like a wall, with their spears, point over point, so thick and close together that no living man could pierce through. But the cloth-yard arrows from the great bows of England fell thick and deadly among them. The columns of archers advanced near and discharged their shafts in perfect security, the Scots having neither cavalry to scatter them by a charge, nor archers to reply to them. Drawing their arrows to the head, they shot with all their force into the circles, and quickly breached the living walls. Through the gaps made by the archers the English cavalry charged, and having once broken in made a dreadful slaughter. The battle was lost. One duty alone remained to the Scottish leader, and that was to save the remainder of his army from destruction by a retreat. Well and soldierly he did it. Retiring slowly, and himself with his best knights defending the rear, he was able to draw off the broken remains of his circles, and to gain the shelter of Torwood forest.”
Second Battle.—“Being joined by Lord Drummond, Prince Charles invested the castle of Stirling, commanded by General Blakeney; but the rebel forces, being unused to sieges, consumed much time to no purpose. It was during this attempt that General Hawley, who commanded a considerable body of forces near Edinburgh, undertook to raise the siege, and advanced towards the rebel army as far as Falkirk. After two days spent in mutually examining each other’s strength, the rebels being ardent to engage, were led on, in full spirits, to attack the King’s army. The Pretender, who was in the front line, gave the signal to engage, and the first fire put Hawley’s forces into confusion. The horse retreated with precipitation, and fell upon their own infantry; while the rebels, following up the blow, the greatest part of the royal army fled with the utmost precipitation. They retired in confusion to Edinburgh, leaving the conquerors in possession of their tents, their artillery, and the field of battle.”
FEROZESHAH, BATTLE OF.—India.—Between the Sikhs and British. The British attacked the entrenchments of the Sikhs, and carried[136] by storm the first line of works, December 21st, 1845. Night coming on the operations were suspended till day-break next day, and their second line was carried and their guns captured; the Sikhs advanced to recapture the guns but were repulsed with great loss, and retreated towards the Sutlej, December 22nd, and re-crossed the river unmolested, December 27th.
FERROL, BRITISH EXPEDITION TO.—Upwards of 10,000 British landed, August, 1800, near Ferrol, commanded by Sir James Pulteney. Despairing of success, though they had gained the heights, they re-embarked and returned to England, by order of the General, and in opposition to the wishes and advice of his officers.
FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD.—Henry VIII embarked at Windsor to meet Francis I of France, at Ardres, May 31st, 1520. So much magnificence was displayed on the occasion, that the field received that name, by which it is now always known in history.
FIRE SHIPS.—Used first in the 16th century. The first use of them, in the English navy, was by Lord Effingham, in the engagement of the Armada, July, 1588.
FLAG.—Acquired its present form in the 6th century, in Spain; introduced, it is said, by the Saracens.
FLAT BUSH, BATTLE OF.—Long Island, America.—Fought August 27th, 1776, between the British forces and American colonists, when the latter, after a desperate engagement, were compelled to retire, with the loss of 2000 men killed, and 1000 prisoners.
FLEURIS, BATTLE OF.—Fought, June, 17th, 1794, between the Allies, under the Prince of Cobourg, and the French revolutionary army, commanded by Marshal Jourdan. The Allies had 100,000 men, and having met the enemy on the plains of Fleuris, were signally defeated. Between 8000 and 10,000 were killed, wounded and taken prisoners, and Jourdan was able to form a junction with the French armies of the Moselle—the Ardennes and the north. In this memorable battle, the French made use of a balloon to reconnoitre the enemy’s army—an experiment which it is said very materially tended to their gaining the victory.
FLODDEN.—Fought on the 9th September, 1513, between the[137] English and Scots. Underneath is a graphic account of the most disastrous battle that ever befell the Scottish arms.
“On the 22nd of August, 1513, James IV of Scotland, at the head of a gallant army, crossed the Tweed, for the purpose of revenging some injuries which he conceived himself to have received at the hands of the King of England, who was then pursuing hostilities in France. Immediately on his crossing that river, he laid siege to the castles of Etel and Ford, and spent much precious time in endeavouring to reduce those fortresses.
Whilst such was the course pursued by the King, the Earl of Surrey concentrating the strength of the northern counties, soon raised an army of 26,000 men; and marching through Durham, received there the sacred banner of St. Cuthbert. He was soon after joined by Lord Dacre, Sir William Bulmer, Sir Marmaduke Constable, and other northern Barons; and on proceeding to Alnwick, was met by his son, Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Admiral of England, with a reinforcement of 5000 men. On advancing with this united force, Surrey dispatched Rouge Croix Herald to carry his challenge to the King of Scots, which was couched in the usual stately terms of feudal defiance. It reproached him with having broken his faith and league, which had been solemnly pledged to the King of England, in thus invading his dominions—and offered him battle on the succeeding Friday, if he would be content to remain so long in England and accept it. Lord Thomas Howard added a message, informing the King, that, as High Admiral, and one who had borne a personal share in the action against Andrew Barton, he was now ready to justify the death of that pirate, for which purpose he would lead the vanguard, where his enemies, from whom he expected as little mercy as he meant to grant them, would be sure to find him. To this challenge, James instantly replied, that “he desired nothing more earnestly than the encounter, and he would abide the battle on the day appointed.” As to the rude accusation of broken honour which had been brought against him, he desired his herald to carry a broad denial of the statement. “Our bond and promise,” he observed, “was to remain true to our royal brother, so long as he maintained his faith with us. This he was the first to break; we have desired redress, and have been denied it; we have warned him of our intended hostility—a courtesy which he has refused to us; and this is our just quarrel, which, with the grace of God, we shall defend.” These mutual messages passed on the 4th of September; and on the day appointed, Surrey advanced against the enemy. By this time, the distress for provisions,[138] the incessant rains, and the obstinacy of the King in waiting upon his pleasures, and his observation of the punctilios of chivalry, the hours which might have been spent in active warfare, had created dissatisfaction in the soldiers, many of whom deserted, with the booty they had already collected; so that in a short time the army was much diminished in numbers. To accept the challenge of his adversary, and permit him to appoint a day for the encounter, was contrary to the advice of his best councillors; and he might have recollected, that in circumstances almost similar, two great masters in war, Douglas and Randolph, had treated a parallel proposal of Edward III with a sarcastic refusal. He had the sagacity, however, to change his first encampment for a stronger position on the hill of Flodden, one of the last and lowest eminences which detach themselves from the range of the Cheviots; a ground skillfully chosen, inaccessible on both flanks, and defended in front by the river Till, a deep sluggish stream, which ran between the armies.
On advancing and reconnoitering the spot, Surrey, who despaired of being able to attack the Scots without exposing himself to the probability of defeat, again sent a herald to request the King to descend from the eminence into the plain. He complained, somewhat unreasonably, that James had “putte himself into a ground more like a fortress or a camp, than any indifferent field for battle to be taxed;” but James would not even admit the messenger into his presence. So far all had succeeded and nothing was required on the part of the King but patience. He had chosen an impregnable position, had fulfilled his agreement by abiding the attack of the enemy; and such was the distress of Surrey’s army in a wasted country, that to keep it longer together was impossible. He attempted, therefore, a decisive measure, which would have appeared desperate, unless he had reckoned upon the carelessness and inexperience of his opponent. Passing the Till on the 8th of September, he proceeded on its east side to Barmoor wood, two miles distant from the Scottish position, where he encamped for the night. His march was concealed from the enemy by an eminence on the east of Ford; but the man?uvre being executed without observation or interruption, evinces a shameful negligence in the Scottish commanders. Early on the morning of the 9th, he marched from Barmoor wood in a north-westerly direction; and then turning suddenly to the eastward, crossed the Till with his vanguard and artillery at Twisel bridge, not far from the confluence of the Till and the Tweed—whilst the rear division, under Surrey in person, passed the river at a ford. Whilst these movements were taking place[139] the Scottish King remained unaccountably passive. His veteran officers remonstrated. They showed him, that if he advanced against Surrey, when the enemy were defiling over the bridge with their vanguard separated from the rear, there was every chance of destroying them in detail, and gaining an easy victory. The Earl of Angus, whose age and experience gave great weight to his advice, implored him either to assault the English, or to change his position by a retreat, ere it was too late; but his prudent counsel was only received by a cruel taunt. “Angus,” said the King, “if you are afraid, you may go home;” a reproach which the spirit of the old Baron could not brook. “My age,” said he, “renders my body of no service, and my counsel is despised; but I leave my two sons and the vassals of Douglas in the field; may the result be glorious, and Angus’s foreboding unfounded!”
The army of Surrey was still marching across the bridge, when Borthwick, the master of the artillery, fell on his knees before the King, and solicited permission to bring his guns to bear upon the columns, which might then be done with the most destructive effect; but James commanded him to desist on peril of his head, declaring that he would meet his antagonist on equal terms in a plain field, and scorned to avail himself of such an advantage. The counsel of Huntly was equally ineffectual; the remonstrance of Lord Lindsay of the Byres was received by James with such vehement indignation, that he threatened on his return to hang him up at his own gate. Time ran on amidst these useless altercations, and the opportunity was soon irrecoverable. The last divisions of Surrey’s force had disentangled themselves from the narrow bridge; the rear had passed the ford; and the Earl, marshalling his army with the leisure his enemy allowed him, placed his entire line between James and his own country. He was thus enabled, by an easy and gradual ascent, which led to Flodden, to march upon the rear of the enemy; and without losing his advantage for a moment, he advanced against them in full array, his army being divided into two battles, and each battle having two wings. On becoming aware of this, the King set fire to the temporary huts and booths of his encampment, and descended the hill, with the object of occupying the eminence on which the village of Brankston is built. His army was divided into five battles, some of which had assumed the form of squares, some of wedges; and all were drawn up in line, about a bow-shot distant from each other. Their march was conducted in complete silence; and the clouds of smoke which arose from the burning camp, being driven in the face of the enemy, mutually[140] concealed the armies; so that when the breeze freshened, and the misty curtain was withdrawn, the two hosts discovered that they were within a quarter of a mile of each other. The arrangement of both armies was simple. The van of the English, which consisted of 10,000 men, divided into a centre and two wings, was led by Lord Thomas Howard; the right wing being intrusted to his brother, Sir Edmund, and the left to Sir Marmaduke Constable. In the main centre of his host Surrey himself commanded; the charge of the rear was given to Sir Edward Stanley; and a strong body of horse, under Lord Dacre, formed a reserve. Upon the part of the Scots, the Earls of Home and Huntly led the advance; the King, the centre; and the Earls of Lennox and Argyle, the rear; near which was the reserve, consisting of the flower of the Lothians, commanded by the Earl of Bothwell. The battle commenced at four in the afternoon, by a furious charge of Huntly and Home upon the portion of the English advance under Sir Edmund Howard; which, after some resistance, was thrown into confusion, and totally routed. Howard’s banner was beaten down; and he himself escaped with difficulty. Lord Thomas Howard, dreading the consequences of a defeat, dispatched a messenger to his father, Lord Surrey, entreating him to extend his line with all speed, and strengthen the van by drawing up a part of the centre on its left. The man?uvre was judicious, but it would have required too long a time to execute; and at this critical moment, Lord Dacre galloped forward with his cavalry to the support of his advance. Nothing could have been more timely than this assistance; he not only checked the career of the Scottish Earls, but drove back the division of Huntly with great slaughter; whilst Home’s men, imagining they had already gained the victory, began to disperse and pillage. Dacre and the Admiral then turned their attack against another portion of the Scottish advance, led by the Earls of Crawford and Montrose, who met them with levelled spears, and resolutely withstood the charge. Whilst such was the state of things on the right, a desperate contest was carried on between James and the Earl of Surrey in the centre. In his ardour, the King forgot that the duties of a commander were distinct from the indiscriminate valour of a knight: he placed himself in the front of his lances and billmen, surrounded by his nobles, who, whilst they pitied the gallant weakness of such conduct, disdained to leave their sovereign unsupported. The first consequence of this was so furious a charge upon the English centre, that its ranks were broken, and for a while the standard of the Earl of Surrey was in danger; but by this time Lord Dacre and the[141] Admiral had been successful in defeating the division led by Crawford and Montrose, and wheeling towards the left, they turned their whole strength against the flank of the Scottish centre, which wavered under the shock, till the Earl of Bothwell came up with the reserve, and restored the day in this quarter. On the right, the divisions led by the Earls of Lennox and Argyle were composed chiefly of the Highlanders and Isle-men, the Campbells, Macleans, Macleods, and other hardy clans, who were dreadfully galled by the discharge of the English archers. Unable to reach the enemy with their broadswords and axes, which formed their only weapons, and not very amenable to discipline, their squadrons began to rush fiercely forward, eager for closer fight, and thoughtless of the fatal consequences of breaking their array. It was to little purpose that La Motte and the French officers with him attempted by entreaties and blows to restrain them; they neither understood their language nor cared for their violence, but threw themselves sword in hand upon the English. The squares of English pikemen stood to their ground; and though for a moment the shock of the mountaineers was terrible, its force once sustained, became spent with its own violence, and nothing remained but a disorganisation so complete that to recover their ranks was impossible. The consequence was, a total rout of the right wing of the Scots, accompanied by a dreadful slaughter, in which the Earls of Lennox and Argyle were slain. Yet, notwithstanding this defeat on the right, the centre, under the King, still maintained an obstinate and dubious conflict with the Earl of Surrey. No quarter was given on either side; and the combatants were disputing every inch of ground, when Stanley, without losing his time in pursuit of the Highlanders, drew back his division and impetuously charged the rear of the Scottish centre. It was now late in the evening, and this movement was decisive. Pressed on the flank by Dacre and the Admiral—opposed in front by Surrey, and now attacked in the rear by Stanley, the King’s battle fought with fearful odds against it; but James continued by his voice and his gestures to animate his soldiers, till he fell pierced with an arrow, and mortally wounded in the head by a bill, within a few paces of the English Earl, his antagonist. The death of their sovereign seemed only to animate the fury of the Scottish Nobles, who threw themselves into a circle round the body, and defended it till darkness separated the combatants. At this time Surrey was uncertain of the result of the battle; the remains of the enemy’s centre still held the field; Home with his borderers hovered on the left; and the commander allowed neither pursuit nor plunder, but kept a strict watch[142] during the night. When the morning broke, the Scottish artillery were seen standing deserted on the side of the hill, their defenders had disappeared; and the Earl ordered thanks to be given for a victory which was no longer doubtful.
The loss of the Scots, in this fatal battle, amounted to about 10,000 men. Of these a great proportion were of high rank; the remainder being composed of the gentry, the farmers and landed yeomanry, who disdained to fly when their sovereign and his nobles lay stretched in heaps around them. Among the slain were thirteen Earls—the King’s natural son, the Archbishop of St. Andrews—the Bishops of Caithness and the Isles—the Abbots of Inchaffray and Kilwinning—and the Dean of Glasgow; besides fifteen Lords and chiefs of clans. The body of James was found on the morrow amongst the thickest of the slain, and recognised by Lord Dacre, although much disfigured by wounds. It was carried to Berwick, and ultimately interred at Richmond.”
FONTAINBLEAU, PEACE OF.—Concluded between France and Denmark, in 1670. Treaty of ditto between the Emperor of Germany and Holland, signed November 8th, 1785. Second Treaty of ditto, between Napoleon and the Royal Family of Spain, October 27th, 1807. Concordat of ditto, between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, January 25th, 1813. Entered by the Austrians, February 17th, 1814. Napoleon here resigned his imperial dignity, and bade farewell to his army, April 5th, 1814.
FONTENOY.—Fought, April 30th, 1745,—according to others, May 11th, 1745—between the French, commanded by Count Saxe, and the English, Hanoverians, Dutch, and Austrians, commanded by the Duke of Cumberland. “The French entered upon the war with great alacrity. They besieged Fribourg, and in the beginning of the succeeding campaign invested the strong city of Tourney. Although the Allies were inferior in number, and although commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, yet, they resolved, if possible, to save the city by hazarding a battle. They accordingly marched against the enemy, and took post in sight of the French, who were encamped on an eminence, the village of St. Antoine on the right, a wood on the left, and the town of Fontenoy before them. This advantageous situation did not repress the ardour of the English, who began the attack at two o’clock in the morning, and pressing forward, bore down all opposition. They were for nearly an hour victorious, and confident of success, while Saxe, a soldier of fortune,[143] who commanded the French army, was at that time sick of the same disorder of which he afterwards died. However, he was carried about to all the posts in a litter, and assured his attendants that, notwithstanding all unfavourable appearances, the day was his own. A column of the English, without any command, but by mere mechanical courage, had advanced upon the enemy’s lines, which, opening, formed an avenue on each side to receive them. It was then that the French artillery on the three sides began to play on this forlorn body, which, though they continued for a long time unshaken, were obliged at last to retreat. This was one of the most bloody battles that had been fought in this age; the Allies left on the field 12,000 men, and the French bought their victory with nearly an equal number of slain.”
FORT DU QUESNE.—United States.—Famous in the French war of Canada with the English. The following extract well describes the expedition:
“Braddock, who had been recommended to this service by the Duke of Cumberland, set forward upon this expedition in June, and left the cultivated parts of the country on the 10th, at the head of 2200 men, directing his march to that part of the country whence Major Washington had retreated the year before. Being at length within ten miles of the French fortress he was appointed to besiege, and marching forward through the forest with full confidence of success, on a sudden his whole army was astonished by a general discharge of arms, both in front and flank, from an enemy that still remained unseen. It was now too late to think of retreating; the troops had passed into the defile which the enemy had artfully permitted them to do before they offered to fire. The vanguard of the English therefore, fell back in consternation upon the main body, and the panic soon became general. The officers alone disdained to fly, while Braddock himself still continued to command his brave associates, discovering at once the greatest intrepidity and imprudence. An enthusiast to the discipline of war, he disdained to fly from the field, or to permit his men to quit their ranks, when their only method of treating the Indian army was by precipitate attack, or an immediate desertion of the field of battle. At length Braddock, having received a musket shot through the lungs, dropped, and a total confusion ensued. All the artillery, ammunition, and baggage of the army was left to the enemy, and the loss sustained by the English amounted to 700 men. The remnant of the army, in this emergency, was saved by the courage and[144] ability of Washington, who first here appears conspicuously on the theatre of this world’s great events.”
FORT ERIE.—Canada.—This fortress was taken by the American General Brown, July 3rd, 1814. Defended by only 170 men, no wonder it yielded to the Americans with 4000 strong. On the 15th August, General Drummond tried to retake it, but failed. September 17th the besieged made a sortie but were driven back, each side losing 600 men. Evacuated by the Americans, who blew up to the fort November 5th, 1814.
FORT NIAGARA.—Canada.—Captured by Sir William Johnston. In the war of 1813 it was surprised and captured by the Canadians.
FREDERECKSHALL.—Rendered memorable by the death of Charles XII of Sweden, who was killed by a cannon ball before its walls, and while in the trenches leaning against the parapet examining the works. He was found in that position with his hand on his sword and a prayer book in his pocket.—December 11th, 1718. It is now generally believed that some traitor shot the King with a pistol.
FRENCHTOWN.—Canada.—This town was taken from the British by the American General Winchester, January 22nd, 1813. Retaken by the British forces under General Proctor immediately afterwards, when the American commander and the whole of his troops were made prisoners of war.
FRIEDLAND, BATTLE OF.—Fought, June 14th, 1807, between the allied Russian and Prussian armies on the one side and the French, commanded by Napoleon in person, who signally defeated them, with the lose of eighty pieces of ordnance and 50,000 men. This victory led to the peace of Tilsit.
FUENTES DE ONORE, BATTLE OF.—Napier thus describes this great battle: “On May 2nd, 1811, Messina crossed the Agueda with 40,000 infantry, 5000 cavalry, and about thirty pieces of artillery, to relieve Almeida. He expected every day to be superseded in his command, and he wished to make a last effort for his own military character. Wellington could muster no more than 32,000 men, of which force only 1200 were cavalry. He, however, determined to fight rather than give up the blockade of Almeida; after much fighting night came on and put[145] an end to the battle. Next day Messina was joined by Bessières, with a body of the Imperial Guard, and on the 5th the enemy made the grand attack. The battle raged throughout a vast plain, and in all the Peninsular War there was never so dangerous an hour for England. The fight lasted till evening, when the lower part of the town was abandoned by both sides—the British keeping the chapel and crags, and the French retiring a cannon shot from the stream.” Fought, May 5th, 1811.